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Memorial Day Weekend

A Time for Celebration and Reflection

By John WhyePublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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Memorial Day Weekend
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

This is Memorial Day weekend. For most people, it is a great time to celebrate. It’s a 3 day weekend since Memorial Day is always observed on the last Monday of May and is a designated federal holiday. Almost every business outside the service industry is closed, so there is ample time to celebrate.

Many people start celebrating even sooner, and leaving work Thursday at noon has become almost a mini tradition. It is a joyous time for so many people, and let’s just admit it, everybody loves a 3 day weekend.

Most schools are getting ready to close for the summer vacation if they haven’t already. Even though we are still in the spring, Memorial Day is a harbinger of the upcoming summer as the seasons progress through their inevitable cycles.

The weather is getting warmer, and it is an ideal time for family get-togethers, BBQs, fishing or road trips, going to a baseball game, or just hanging out in the park with your friends. It is a national tradition and we have been celebrating it since shortly after the Civil War.

But all too often, the real meaning of Memorial Day is obscured by the fact that it is a day set aside to honor all of the fallen soldiers who have died defending our country throughout its history.

We have all probably lost loved ones to some war at some time since war seems to always be with us, and there can be no greater sacrifice than laying down your life for your country.

There will be marches and parades and ceremonies all over the country this weekend memorializing those who died in the service of their country in the armed forces. But be it in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, or wherever American soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice, this is their special day.

I am sure we all have our own personal tales of friends and relatives who fought and died in foreign wars; fathers, grandfathers, uncles, cousins, and countless friends and contemporaries.

Almost all of us baby boomers had fathers who served in WW II, both in the European and Pacific theaters of war. These are the men that Tom Brokaw immortalized in his book, “The Greatest Generation.”

This is the real meaning of Memorial Day, the tragedy, heartbreak, and human toll on the soldiers who fought and are still fighting in these wars, and especially on their families and loved ones who mourn quietly at home.

Memorial Day in this country is for ALL the soldiers who died in the service of America, who gave their lives to preserve the values and lifestyles, and freedom we enjoy today. And for all of them and their families. we should give thanks, honor, and respect. It is often said, “Old men make wars, and young men fight and die in them.”

Anyway, that is the real meaning of Memorial Day. So we should all take a few moments out of our busy 3 day weekend of barbecues and fishing trips and travel excursions and family get-togethers to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice of these military men, mostly all young men and women, who were cut down in the flower of their youth, serving their country, our country, America.

Today the war in Ukraine is raging, and the same brutal power politics that Putin is exercising there is ravaging families, destroying homes, and killing soldiers and civilians. The cycle of violence and inhumanity continues.

It reminds me of the old Pete Seeger song, “Where Have All The Flowers Gone.” Enjoy the holiday, but at the same time, make sure to pause and remember and respect, just for a minute, those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could enjoy our way of life.

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About the Creator

John Whye

Retired hippie blogger, Bay Area sports enthusiast, Pisces, music lover, songwriter...

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